Newbie feat question


Rules Questions

Silver Crusade

Can you hold onto a feat, and spend it later? Although I have had experience creating characters, I have only ever played with my relaxed play group. The GM didn't see holding onto a feat for later as terribly game breaking so he allowed it in the group. He was rather lenient, but is there any rule that makes you spend your feat when you get it? Is that just an unwritten rule, or the basic mechanic of a feat- to be spent immediately? One of the specific examples of this leniency was when someone had a feat they planned to get with their level 5 feat, but it required a BAB they wouldn't have until level 6 so the GM was alright with them holding out for a level to spend the feat at level 6. Again, this was not a Pathfinder society group, but I was just wondering if that would fly in a pathfinder society group


as I understand it you must normally spend feats as you get them. There are no rules that say you can hold on to them for a later date, but I personally like that idea. I personally allow people to switch out feats if they haven't used them. As it seems like a waste if they were planning to play one way but found another more enjoyable. But as far as the rules specifically saying you have to spend them I can't find it in the Core Rulebook but I'd think the society group would be opposed

Grand Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.

PFS plays by the published rules. You must apply all effects of each character level, p. 30: "make sure to take the following steps in order .. For more information on when you gain new feats and ability score increases, see Table 3-1."

If you have no idea what feat you want at 1st level, you could take Toughness to help you survive until you see how the character plays, then take advantage of the 1st level rebuild option.

If holding onto a feat and spending it later would give you a mechanical advantage over following the rules, you've discovered the reason it's important not to do it.

Silver Crusade

Right on, thank you for the clarification!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Starglim, I think that Toughness and rebuild are a good recommendation, even though I disagree with your ruling. The question was do you have to choose a feat right away; and the way I read it, the text only says that you can't add feats before the other three steps of leveling up. I don't see any reason why not to let someone wait; they're only weaker in the meantime.


because it would allow people to save up all their feats so that suddenly when they get +6 BAB or 9 ranks in a skill or whatever, they suddenly spend all of their feats on ones with those prerequisites.


And the problem with that is...?


Fredrik wrote:
And the problem with that is...?

It is a houserule and not RAW. If both, players and GM, like the idea / possibilities then there is no problem.

Silver Crusade

Fredrik wrote:
Starglim, I think that Toughness and rebuild are a good recommendation, even though I disagree with your ruling. The question was do you have to choose a feat right away; and the way I read it, the text only says that you can't add feats before the other three steps of leveling up. I don't see any reason why not to let someone wait; they're only weaker in the meantime.

My GM essentially qualified his stance on feat queueing with "If you can survive in the meantime without your feats I'll let you spend them later." I certainly enjoy it as a house rule.

Liberty's Edge

Zahh wrote:


My GM essentially qualified his stance on feat queueing with "If you can survive in the meantime without your feats I'll let you spend them later." I certainly enjoy it as a house rule.

That's pretty much how I run my home game, with the caveat that you can only hold off on a feat for one level. Feats that require higher BAB/caster level/class benefits are more powerful than feats with lower requirements, so putting off gaining feats makes it possible to create more powerful characters overall.

I like to give my players a bit of flexibility, but some of them would be 5th level before they ever took a feat if I let them. :-)

Sczarni

Quote:
And the problem with that is...?

A lot, actually. Oh the things I could do with this ruling.

Say you have a feat which requires a certain BaB. You get to level 3, but don't meet the BaB requirements so you hold onto the feat selection. Next feat level you still don't meet the requirements so you hold onto it again. Next feat level you meet the pre-req, so you spend that first feat selection on the feat, which is a pre-req for another feat, which is a pre-req for another feat. Normally you would have to wait 2 more feat levels before attaining that third tier feat but with the "I'll hold onto it" ruling, you've managed to skip ahead.

To answer the question more directly I'm not sure there is a RAW stating you MUST use a feat when you get it outside PFS, but any GM allowing this is asking for trouble from an experienced player.


Zahh wrote:
"If you can survive in the meantime without your feats I'll let you spend them later."

I'd suggest defining when you can take advantage of your unspent feat / how long it takes to learn one. "So, I have to make a fortitude save or die? I'll spend my unused feat on Great Fortitude."


That's easy: you can only choose a feat while leveling up.

And thank you Corren28 for that explanation. If there are feat chains that assume it would take a certain level to reach the top, without actually requiring it, then yeah. That could be a problem.

Sczarni

*Nods* A good example is the Critical Focus line.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Rules Questions / Newbie feat question All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.